Forced to Choose Silence: Social Gaming with Disabilities

Background: Socialization during gaming is an important aspect of gaming for people with and without disabilities. However, we know little about how gamers with disabilities play with others. Aim: This study investigated the social gaming experiences of individuals with disabilities focusing on research questions 1) Who do people with disabilities play with?, and 2) How do people with disabilities communicate while gaming? Method: We conducted a survey study which focused on experiences of gaming with disabilities. In total 92 responses were analyzed. Results: The results suggest that gamers with disabilities play digital multiplayer games locally and online with friends, family, strangers, and people they know. The most used communication methods were speech, text, and built-in features. However, some were not communicating at all due to a lack of suitable communication methods. Furthermore, communication varied depending on if the gaming was happening online or locally, and depending on the gaming companions. Discussion: The results align with previous research indicating that people with disabilities engage in gaming with friends, family, and strangers similar to any other gamer. However, there is a lack of studies on how people generally communicate in games, nonetheless, as speech and text communication methods are most commonly seen in games, we can assume that they are the most used communication methods for all gamers. Limitations and Future Research: This study has limitations both related to the survey questions and the survey participants. We cannot be sure if all understood the questions in the same way, furthermore, most of the participants were experienced Finnish gamers with physical disabilities which could have skewed the results. Further research is necessary to address these limitations and broaden the scope of the study's findings. Conclusions: Based on the results, we argue that games should provide multiple means of communication to make social gaming more accessible.